One woman's journey from living room to law school with one husband and three kids in tow.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Four Pounds

Last week I lost four pounds. It was the hardest four pounds I've ever lost in my life, I'm sure of it. Don't mistake me, I am exhilarated that the scale registered me four pounds lighter this morning but tired, too, thinking about all the hard work I put into losing those pounds - and how much more work I must do to lose the additional pounds clinging for dear life to my ass and thighs. Oh, how I hate you scale for giving me happiness and despair in equal measures!

What works for me is not thinking about the gym and the grueling workout that will ensue. Because if I really sit and think about the sixty minutes of cardio I must do, then I won't go to the gym. Just thinking of how tired I'm going to be after the gym is all I need to stay home with my ass and thighs glued to the sofa and expanding ever so slightly because I slacked off for one day.

Because you know that bit about making exercise part of your daily routine and blah, blah, blah. It's true for me. For the past two weeks, or since I vowed to reclaim my skinny self, I've forced myself to the gym most days of the week. In a typical week, I go to the gym four days of the week, do a forty minute exercise tape on my "off" day, then on Sundays take a vigorous hike with my 38lb preschooler strapped to my back.

I also only eat 1500-1700 calories per day of mostly healthy stuff but sometimes I blow 600 calories on a donut or, say, 12 Fudge Stripe cookies. I usually do ok as long as I remember to have a high caloric breakfast because I don't binge eat if I have at least 300 calories at breakfast.

On 12-cookie-day, I'd only had 193.8 calories for breakfast and I know this because I keep a Food Diary otherwise known as a Daily Record of All the Crap I Stuff in My Pie Hole. Keeping a food diary helps me stay on my daily caloric intake path. I know it sounds a little, well, Oprahatic, but it really does work. I mean, look at me, I lost four pounds by meticulously recording my food intake and subjecting my body to punishing workouts. Sounds like fun, right?

Of course, if those four pounds had detached themselves from my thighs instead of from my boobs, then this post might be a little bit more sunshine and unicorns but, readers, exercise and proper eating is really fricking hard. Thank goodness I've got skinny me slapping me around and keeping me in line or 12-cookie-day would be everyday.

4 comments:

i only lose when I track too. i use fitday.com. i calculated my bmr and dropped 20% to figure out a daily calorie count. this averages 2# per week. if i exercise, i allow myself to eat those calories or not -- depending on how hungry i feel. I lost 6 the first week. nothing 2nd and 3rd. 2 the 4th week.

sparkpeople.com has a great recipe calculator for calories that i use as well. i'm like you, i have to have a 250-300 calorie breakfast or i want to graze all day! i also find a snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon curbs the hunger and eating at main meals. i like the new nutrigrain fruit and nut bars. of course, i'm sure i'll be sick of them in another month or so! :) anything specific that's helping you?